Agenda item

To agree the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) for submission to Council on 19 March 2024.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     notes the contents of the attached earlier Officer report to the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder; and

b)     agrees the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) and that it be submitted to Council for approval.

Cabinet considered a report of the Corporate Finance & Governance Portfolio Holder (A.4), which sought its approval to submit the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) to Council on 19 March 2024.

It was reported that the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25, including Prudential and Treasury Indicators, had been approved by the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder on 26 February 2024 for consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered the Strategy at its meeting held on 5 March 2024 and its recommendation to Cabinet was as follows:-

“That further clarity is required around the relative roles of consultation on the Council’s key investment proposals and the significant financial constraints on the Council over the coming years to ensure that the reader of the Treasury Strategy would be clear on the relative roles.”

The Leader of the Council stated that, having discussed that recommendation with Officers, was confident that the issue raised had been covered within the Portfolio Holder’s report to Cabinet.

The proposed Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 was set out in Appendix A to the Portfolio Holder’s report (A.4). (For completeness, that Appendix also included the Officer report considered by the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder when he had approved the Strategy on 26 February 2024 for consultation with the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

Members were informed that the Capital Strategy element of the combined document covered the various elements surrounding capital investment decisions and the key criteria that investment decisions should be considered against.

Cabinet was made aware that the Treasury Strategy element of the combined document covered the various elements that satisfied the requirements of the various codes that governed the borrowing and investment activities of the Council and had been prepared in the light of advice received from the Council’s Treasury advisors and which reflected the latest codes and guidance.

Members were advised that the Prudential and Treasury indicators were included as an Annex to the combined strategy and were therefore included within Appendix A.

It was reported that under the Prudential Code, the Council had freedom over capital expenditure as long as it was prudent, affordable and sustainable. The Prudential Indicators either measured the expected activity or introduced limits upon the activity and reflected the underlying capital appraisal systems and enabled the Council to demonstrate that it was complying with the requirements of the Prudential Code.

Cabinet was reminded that the Council’s investments would be undertaken in accordance with its Treasury Management Practices.

Cabinet noted the new requirements introduced by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 that related to ‘trigger points’ and risk thresholds, which if breached would see the Government provide risk mitigation directions to Local Authorities. Those were set out in detail within the attached report that was considered by the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance on 26 February 2024.

Having duly considered the comments/recommendations put forward by the Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and in order to support the process of ensuring that a Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 was approved by Full Council before 1 April 2024:-

It was moved by Councillor M E Stephenson, seconded by Councillor Baker and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

a)     notes the contents of the attached earlier Officer report to the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder; and

b)     agrees the Annual Capital and Treasury Strategy for 2024/25 (including Prudential and Treasury Indicators) and that it be submitted to Council for approval.